Constitutional Convention 1787

Constitutional Convention 1787

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

1787 Constitutional Convention

• Took place in Philadelphia, PA

• 55 delegates from 12 states

• Lawyers, slave owners,

businessmen, politicians

• George Washington was the

president of the Convention

• Rule of Secrecy

– No one could talk about

what was discussed at the

Convention

– Delegates needed to feel

free to speak their minds

without hearing complaints

from the public

Major Issues Debated at the

Convention

• How will states be represented in the New

Government?

• How will each states population be

counted?

– Should slaves be counted as people in a

states population or counted as

property?

Roger Sherman – The Compromiser

• Delegate from

Connecticut

• Lawyer

• Created The Great

Compromise

• Co-created the Three-

fifths Compromise

James Madison “Father of the Constitution” :

• 36 Years old, From the

state of Virginia

• Took excellent notes

during the Convention

• Wrote the Virginia Plan

• Strong influence on

writing the constitution

and a great speaker

Debates and Compromises

How will states be represented in the New Government?

• How many parts of government will there be?

• One house or TWO houses?

• How many representatives should each state have?

• Are the number of votes based on the size of the state? Or equal vote for each state?

• How will the representatives be chosen?

How will states be represented in the New Government?

The Virginia Plan by James

Madison

1. 3 branches of government: – Legislative

– Executive

– Judicial

2. Congress would be divided

into two parts called

“HOUSES”

3. The number of votes each

state would have would be

based on population

4. Larger states have more

votes

The New Jersey Plan by

William Paterson

1. 3 branches of government• Legislative,

• Executive

• Judicial

2. Congress will have only

ONE house

3. Each state would have an

equal vote in Congress

4. Help protect the small

states

The Great Compromise by Roger Sherman

1. 3 Branches of Gov’t:

Legislative, Executive, and

Judicial

2. Congress would have

TWO houses.o The House of

Representatives, would

be based on the

population in each state

o The Senate, would

represent the states with 2

Senators from each state.

How will each states population be

counted?

• Should slaves be counted as people

in a states population or counted as

property?

• If counted, will slaves be considered

citizens who can vote?

• How can they be slaves AND

citizens?

How will each states population be counted?

The Southern States

1. Southern states wanted

to include slaves in their

population count.

2. Slaves would not count

when figuring out

property taxes.

3. This would increase their

population and give them

more representatives

(and votes) in Congress

The Northern States

1. The Northern states say:

‘Are the slaves people or

are they property like the

plantation owners treat

them?’

2. If they are property, then

tax them like cattle or

horses

3. If they are people, then

make them citizens and

let them vote

The Three-Fifths

Compromise1. Created by James Wilson

with help from Roger

Sherman

2. Each slave would count as

three-fifths of a person in

the population of a state

– Every 5 slaves counted as 3

people

3. This counting of slaves also

went toward property

taxing purposes

Congress can not ban the slave trade

until 1808.